UNH paramedic students use robot for hands-on practice in childbirth

Robot gives UNH paramedic students hands-on practice in childbirth

Published 5:30 pm, Tuesday, March 8, 2016

NEW HAVEN >> This mother-to-be sounds a little mechanical when she yells out, “It’s a sharp, tearing pain!” as her baby is about to emerge.

“Please give me an epidural,” she pleads, her eyes blinking.

But the robot manikin known as Victoria Gaumard, named for her manufacturer, won’t give the paramedic students attending to her any undue stress. She is, in fact, an electronically advanced expectant mother, made by Gaumard Scientific of Miami.

Logan Marsh, a junior at UNH and an emergency medical technician, has witnessed a birth in the field, and found that helping to deliver Victoria’s baby “wasn’t quite as messy. It was significantly quieter. There’s a lot more going on,” he said.

What’s going on, besides the piston inside Victoria pushing the robot baby out, are the instructors, members of the West Shore Fire District in West Haven, operating the manikin from a computer in the next room — they can use a programmed script or give Victoria an individualized voice, with software that makes even a man’s voice sound like a woman about to give birth.

“She’s as realistic as you can get at this time,” said William Seward, a paramedic and emergency medical technician with West Shore, a member of the UNH faculty and a simulation technician.

This gives students the opportunity to practice in a realistic situation and make mistakes “without actually hurting people,” said Paul Clini, a faculty member who’s also a paramedic with the West Shore Fire District.

Photo: Peter Hvizdak — New Haven Register

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Harrison Newman, a University of New Haven paramedical student, congratulates a fellow student after successfully delivering a robot baby during a training session for emergency natural childbirth in a Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital classroom Thursday. less

Harrison Newman, a University of New Haven paramedical student, congratulates a fellow student after successfully delivering a robot baby during a training session for emergency natural childbirth in a Yale-New ... more

Photo: Peter Hvizdak — New Haven Register

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William Seward, Yale-New Haven Hospital Sponsor Hospital lead paramedic instructor and lead simulator technician, controls a realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation manikin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The manikin is used for training first medical responders. less

William Seward, Yale-New Haven Hospital Sponsor Hospital lead paramedic instructor and lead simulator technician, controls a realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation manikin that mimics a woman going through ... more

Photo: Peter Hvizdak — New Haven Register

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Paul Clini, Yale-New Haven Hospital Sponsor Hospital lead paramedic instructor, with a high-fidelity birthing simulation manikin, left, guides University of New Haven paramedicine students Sephora Givehand, center, and Eric Demeraski Jr. through a realistic emergency natural childbirth in a Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital classroom during a training session Thursday. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
William Seward, Yale-New Haven Hospital Sponsor Hospital Lead Paramedic Instructor and Lead Simulator Technician, controls a realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin from a control room that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth . The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
William Seward, Yale-New Haven Hospital Sponsor Hospital Lead Paramedic Instructor and Lead Simulator Technician, right, and Eric Demeraski, Jr., a University of New Haven Paramedicine student prepare to put fluids into a realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
William Seward, Yale-New Haven Hospital Sponsor Hospital Lead Paramedic Instructor and Lead Simulator Technician, right, and Eric Demeraski, Jr., a University of New Haven ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
Harrison Newman, a University of New Haven Paramedicine student, congratulates a fellow student after successfully delivering a baby during a training session of an emergency natural childbirth incident in a Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital classroom Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
Harrison Newman, a University of New Haven Paramedicine student, congratulates a fellow student after successfully delivering a baby during a training session of an ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical responders in a classroom at the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital during a training session Thursday, March 3, 2016. The Y-NHH Sponsor Hospital in New Haven has legal oversight and direction of all active emergency medicine organizations in the area. less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register)
A realistic high-fidelity birthing simulation mannequin that mimics a woman going through emergency natural childbirth. The mannequin is used for training first medical ... more

“All of our faculty here are active practicing paramedics at AMR (American Medical Response) and places like that,” said David Tauber, emergency medical services education coordinator with the Yale-New Haven Sponsor Hospital Program at 77 Willow St. (Each paramedic-training program must have a sponsoring hospital.)

Victoria goes far beyond the manikins that give students practice on severe injuries, even severed limbs. She comes equipped with fake amniotic fluid, blood and a very slippery baby, who can be set to be “born” normally or breech, or even with less common presentations, such as shoulder first. She can be set up to offer students the experience of a traumatic episiotomy.

“We can program the baby to not cry when it comes out, to not breathe so it can be an emergent situation,” said Seward. UNH “preaches experiential education, learning by doing,” Clini said.

Most of the time, paramedics face emergency births that are otherwise normal. Clini has experienced “quite a few, at least a dozen, if not more” since he became an EMT in 2004, but he hasn’t had any complicated deliveries.

Most of the time, the mother does all the work, said Seward. “All we’re there [for] is to catch and dry it and give the baby to the mother.”

“Oftentimes it’s a test for them to see how they do on their own without any instructor involvement,” added Clini, about the work with the robot. “We can critique it with them.”

Sephora Givehand, who is between her sophomore and junior years at UNH, wants to go into a pre-medical program. She called Victoria “interesting, pretty cool.” She said she’s watched videos of what the manikin is capable of and said they’re “pretty fluidy.”

While the paramedics would normally have brought the mother to the hospital before any extraordinary measures are taken, Victoria is programmed to react to drug injections and epidurals. The baby has an umbilical cord attached to a placenta that also can be delivered.

“These manikins have brought the training we give our students above and beyond anything we had in our classes,” said Seward of his own training.

Tauber said spend half of their non-classroom time with the various robots, which can total 90 hours for an EMT certificate and 300 hours for a paramedic’s bachelor’s degree.

He said Victoria is used not just for childbirth instruction but for other medical concerns that affect women as well, including gynecological issues.

“We use Victoria not just because she pushes out babies but because we want students to see women as patients,” Tauber said.